Most of my conversations — internally and externally — seem to be centred around artificial intelligence. I trust yours are too, particularly as the proud “godparents” of AI have recently said that machines are already as intelligent as humans in various domains.
In fact, according to Nobel Prize winner Geoffrey Hinton, a machine learning expert, it won’t be long before AI overtakes us: “How long before, if you have a debate with a machine, it will always win? I think that is definitely coming within 20 years.”
So, for the rest of us, are machines going to replace bankers — and journalists — or will they just make our work lives easier, by dealing with mundane tasks and allowing us to focus on more ambitious ones?
Despite the optimism of the minds behind the revolutionary technology, no one in banking has a definitive answer. But everyone seems concerned with their staff’s general level of understanding of AI.
In one of our latest pieces on the subject, Sally Hickey takes the pulse of the situation and finds that bank bosses are under shareholder pressure to prove a return on AI investment (seven in 10, to be precise, according to a study), while they, in turn, put pressure on staff to become “dual skilled”, combining finance knowledge with AI fluency.
Does this match your experience, too?
For a deeper dive into the subject, you may want to browse our easily digestible series on AI, packed with data, charts and insights about banks’ challenges (and ongoing projects) around the technology.
Bankers around the world will also be preoccupied with other threats — from the challenges in surveilling wealth management flows, to the physical risks posed by climate change and the scrutiny into banks’ involvement in environmentally damaging activities.
The weakening of climate commitments has drawn criticism in recent months, too, since the Trump administration’s views on the subject led to a general clamming up among big banks previously committed to net zero targets. There are of course other challenges around meeting those goals, with the most recent “pragmatic” changes made by HSBC.
With the UN climate conference — or COP30 — taking place next week in Brazil, I suspect green activists will attempt to shame banks for their contribution to climate change.
I am confident, though, given the state of politics, policy and technological progress, that they will more likely feel the AI heat instead.
Have a good week ahead.
Silvia
Silvia Pavoni is the editor in chief of The Banker
